Top Nissan executive resigns amid Ghosn probe

Munoz was Nissan’s chief performance officer and head of its China operations

He became the latest executive casualty since Nissan removed Ghosn as chairman in November 2018

TOKYO, Japan - Nissans chief performance officer and head of its China operations, Jose Munoz has announced his decision to quit the company.

At a time when the Japanese automaker is broadening its probe into the alleged financial misconduct by the ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn, its management team was further rattled after Munoz quit the company.

Nissan Motor's top executive, Munoz, was widely considered a close ally to Ghosn.

He was thought to be a possible successor to lead the automaking partnership between Nissan and Frances Renault SA.

However, the 53-year-old top executive had also become a person of interest in Nissans widening internal investigation.

At such a time, Munoz decided to make the announcement regarding his decision to resign from the company in a LinkedIn post.

Munoz wrote in the post on Friday, "Unfortunately, Nissan is currently involved in matters that have and will continue to divert its focus. As I have repeatedly and recently made clear to the company, I look forward to continuing to assist Nissan in its investigations."

Meanwhile, Nissan issued a statement on Saturday and said that Munoz had "elected to resign" from the company, effective immediately.

Some reports revealed that Munoz had been placed on a leave of absence earlier this month.

Reports also alleged that he had not been co-operating with the internal investigation.

However, neither Nissan, nor Munoz have elaborated on the latest development in the scandal.

His resignation comes as part of a series of executive casualties that the company has faced since it removed Ghosn as chairman in November 2018.

The company also fired representative director Greg Kelly at the same time.

Amid the scandal involving its top management, the Japanese automaker is also struggling to shore up profitability in the U.S.

At the same time, the company is seeking to expand aggressively in China.